


The Pact

by Palefire73



Series: Loki Origins [38]
Category: Eir - Fandom, Frigga - Fandom, Loki - Fandom, Norse Gods - Fandom, Thor - Fandom, Tyr - Fandom, Young Loki - Fandom, Young Thor - Fandom, Young Tyr - Fandom
Genre: Fighting, Gen, Secrets, Teasing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-06-12 15:36:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15342963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Palefire73/pseuds/Palefire73
Summary: Tyr, Thor and Loki are out playing one afternoon when Thor jokes about Loki's physique.The ensuing fight leads to a promise that will last forever.





	The Pact

“Come on, Brother! You are growing taller with every day, look…” Thor held his hand to the top of Loki’s head and then brought it to his chest, “you are already up to here on me and…” he then placed his hand on Tyr’s chest a little lower down, “here on Tyr! Considering you are only five years of age…”

“I am nearly a man!” Interrupted the little boy looking up at him with self-assurance.

“Yes… nearly a man… You are fairly tall.” Despite his efforts to make Loki feel a bit better about being so much younger than his two brothers, Thor looked over his head at Tyr and winked.

“It is just a shame that you are so skinny!”

 

Tyr burst into laughter as he watched Thor suddenly set off apace across the swathe of grass they were playing on as Loki pursued him. Earlier that morning they had decided to bring their wooden training swords and shields out to help Loki in his swordsmanship and they had spent a good hour teaching him about how to place his feet and how to duck and parry, but after a while the young Prince had grown despondent about his performance in comparison to theirs and they had ended up having to reassure him that he was doing well for his age. However, Thor could not resist the temptation for a jest and he was now having to actually make an effort to get away from Loki, who was a surprisingly fast runner, despite his shorter legs.

 

“ _I am not skinny!”_ Shouted Loki as he sprinted after Thor.

“Yes you are!” Panted Thor, “I can almost see through you!”

“No! I… am… _not!”_ Yelled Loki and he threw himself at Thor with his arms outstretched. Tyr looked on with shock, certain that Loki would miss and would go sprawling over the grass, but by some miracle, he managed to grab the back of Thor’s jerkin and they both tumbled to the ground.

 

Although winded by the rough landing, Loki quickly scrambled on top of Thor, who had turned onto his back, and he began to thump his older brother’s chest angrily, still incensed by Thor’s joke.

 

“Take it back, Thor!” His small fists landed alternately on Thor’s chest and then on his arms as he raised them to defend himself. Tyr began to make his way over; he needed to calm this down and make the two of them see sense before it went too far.

“I shall not!” Laughed Thor as he dodged the blows and managed to grab one of Loki’s wrists, “You _are_ skinny!”

“I am not!” grunted Loki and he continued to hit Thor with his free hand, “I am not! I have got muscles just as you do!”

 

As Tyr arrived to separate them, Thor managed to grab Loki’s free hand and he pushed him off his chest before managing to straddle him and control his thrashing around by sitting heavily on him. He held Loki’s wrists and brought them over his head to press them into the ground and lean over him, bringing his face down to make the young boy look at him.

“Loki, calm down before you get hurt…”

“No!” Yelled Loki, and he began to squirm underneath him in an attempt to break free, “Let me go!” He balled his hands into fists as he strained against Thor’s grip.

“Loki…”

“Loki, Thor, I think that is quite enough.” Tyr pulled at Thor’s shoulder and the blonde youth let go of Loki and jumped up and away from him, but not quickly enough to avoid a hard kick to his shin. Anger flared in him and he lunged back down towards Loki even though he had almost got up off the flattened grass to try to attack him again. Tyr tried to intervene, but it was too late; the boys collided heavily and then began to grapple, with the younger shoving at his elder brother to try to topple him while having his hands prised off. They staggered back and forth with cries and grunts of “Unhand me before I hurt you!” and “Declare that I am well-built!” before they eventually fell crashing to the ground again and only then could Tyr try to help once again. Unfortunately, true to his brother’s repeated warnings, Loki had indeed come the worst off and had landed underneath the much larger and heavier Thor. As he reluctantly allowed Tyr to help him up, he nursed his wrist where it had been bent backwards at a nasty angle. It was already puffing up and it hurt terribly, but he refused to cry: he was nearly a man, he was _not_ skinny and he would not shed tears over this!

 

However, his older brothers were not stupid, and quickly spotted that something was wrong. Tyr crouched down to see what had happened.

 

“Loki?” He gently touched the youngster’s hand, which was holding the injured wrist, “What has happened to you?”

“ _Nothing!”_ snapped Loki, turning away, but his voice revealed otherwise.

“Have you hurt your arm?”

“It was _Thor’s_ fault!” exclaimed Loki, his young voice cracking, “he did it!”

 

Thor’s face showed sudden surprise, but a glance from Tyr silenced his protest before he could voice it. Instead, he came over to Loki and put a large hand on his shoulder.

 

“Loki…”

“You may have hurt me, but I am not skinny.” said Loki petulantly. It seemed he was still unwilling to concede that point despite his injury.

“Very well, Loki,” said Thor as he hunkered down to look his younger brother in the eye, “you are not skinny. You are… lean… and sprightly… and an exceptional runner!” He tousled Loki’s hair affectionately and the young Prince managed a smile.

“I am?” he asked.

“Certainly! I am the greatest athlete in my class and you caught me.” His kindly blue eyes to look at Loki’s wrist and his expression quickly changed. “Loki, your arm…”

“It is nothing,” declared Loki stubbornly and he met Thor’s questioning gaze with a steadfast look of his own.

 

Yet, it was something. When they had fallen over during their fight, Loki’s wrist had broken and it was taking a lot of his Seidr to lessen the pain to a more bearable level. His young yet astute mind had reached out and had found the displaced bones, along with a broken one and he knew exactly what was wrong with it.

 

“We need to get you to the healing room, Loki,” said Tyr, “your arm is clearly injured.”

“ _No!”_ said Loki and his brothers looked at him in puzzlement. What was wrong with going to be made better?

 

What neither of them knew about was a conversation Loki had overheard quite by accident a few days earlier when he had just been put to bed and the two adults talking in the nursery had assumed he was asleep. His mother and nanny were talking quietly in the seating area of the nursery, but Loki’s keen ears had picked up every word.

 

_“I am worried about allowing Loki to go out playing with the boys, Fulla. He is so much younger than them and not nearly as tough.”_

_“My Queen, you cannot prevent him from being with them, they are brothers and should adventure together. It would be quite mean of you to forbid it.”_

_“Yes, I know, but…”_

_“Are you sure this is not because he is the youngest? It seems to me that you are babying him a little.”_

_“I suppose I am. It is unfair, yet I dread hearing of any injuries, I am fearful that he may eat something harmful again, I worry…”_

_“My Lady, you must learn to allow the young Prince some freedom. You risk stifling him and making him jealous of Tyr and Thor. He could end up resenting you.”_

_“Very well Fulla. You are right of course! But if anything happens, if Loki comes to any harm, then I shall simply have to stop them straying too far.”_

 

Loki had lain in his bed listening to this conversation with a heavy heart; he did not want to be told he could no longer play out with his brothers!

 

“ _No_! I cannot go to the healing rooms! Eir will tell Móðir what has happened and I will not be allowed to play with you again!” Now tears did appear in Loki’s eyes and Thor and Tyr looked at each other helplessly.

“Then what do you propose we do?” asked Tyr, “She will see your arm at supper and we are due back in a short while.”

“I know what to do.” Said Loki confidently, “Sit with me.”

 

Thor and Tyr were intrigued by what their younger brother had said and they sat on the grass with Loki and watched as he carefully rolled up the sleeve of his blue jerkin to reveal the badly bruised and swollen wrist. He placed the fingers of his other hand gently over it and then closed his eyes. As the two older Princes looked on, a faint blue light started to appear in his fingertips and then it began to shimmer and tendrils of sparkling blue dust started to come from them and envelop the damaged area. As they watched in wonderment, the skin became almost transparent, revealing musculature, bones and tendons, and they could see the damage as clear as day. The blue Seidr – for that is what it was – began to wrap itself around the broken and displaced bones and slowly they moved back in to place where they knitted together. A couple of tendons rejoined and then the transparency faded away, leaving only the swollen bruises on view. Tyr glanced at Loki’s face and, to his great concern, saw he was growing pale and was sweating profusely, yet he did not want to disturb what he was doing. He nudged Thor, who was transfixed by what he was witnessing, and indicated Loki’s state.

 

With a final grunt of effort, Loki’s eyes suddenly flew open and he looked to see if he had been successful in his attempt to heal the damage. A relieved smile crossed his face as he saw a perfectly normal wrist, but then his eyes rolled in their sockets and it was only through quick reflexes and an ounce of luck that Tyr managed to catch him before he fell over again. As he cradled the limp youngster to his chest, he looked up at Thor.

 

What should they do now?

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Eir!” Tyr spotted the Senior Healer and carried Loki over to her. At the sound of his approach, she turned around and her eyes alighted on the unconscious form of the youngest Odinson Prince.

“What…?”

“He did magic and fainted!” Blurted Thor, “We cannot tell Móðir!”

 

Eir looked at him suspiciously, but her first duty was to find out what was wrong with Loki. She directed Tyr over to an empty Soul Forge and he placed him gently on it.

 

“We were playing, he broke his wrist and he said we could not go to Móðir with it and then he healed it and then he fainted!” Thor’s worry was clear in his panicked rambling and Eir patted his arm.

“Leave all of that for now. Let me see what is wrong with him.”

 

Yet before she could begin to activate the Forge, Loki’s eyes fluttered open and he began to sit up. “Where am I?” he murmured, looking at his audience of surprised people.

“You fell unconscious!” Exclaimed Thor, “We did not know what to do!”

“Unconscious…?” Loki looked at Eir, who smiled kindly.

“How are you feeling?” She asked, “Anything hurting? Headache?”

“I am tired, but inside, not just my mind” Said Loki, “My whole being is tired. My bones, my nerves, my tummy…”

 

Eir stroked his brown hair and encouraged him to lie down again, “I am just going to do a couple of checks to see if you are poorly, Loki.” She deftly manipulated the mists which appeared as she activated the Forge and after a few minutes she patted his hand reassuringly. “You are drained Loki. That break has healed well, but you have depleted all your energy reserves doing it. Lie there a while and the Forge will revitalise you.” She glanced at Tyr and Thor, who were clearly very worried. “Your mother…”

“Can not know of this!” Said Tyr, and Thor nodded in agreement.

“What do you mean?” Asked the Healer.

“She will stop him coming to play out. Please just make him less tired and then we must go. It is almost suppertime and we have to get back before she wonders where we are.”

“I cannot lie to my Queen!” Laughed Eir, “You are the Princes and I must report any health issues to her while you are minors.”

“Please Eir!” Loki’s thin voice caught her and she went over to look down at him. His blue eyes were pleading with her. “I have been in too many scrapes, Eir. She will not allow me to venture out with Tyr and Thor if she knows I have hurt myself and it is unfair! I have mended it…” he held his arm up and to his dismay he could see the faint sign of his Seidr on it. He would have to hide it until it faded.

“I should not really withhold information…”

“Please Eir.” Loki pleaded. “Just this once. _Please_.”

 

Sighing, Eir considered the boys’ request. Would it do any harm? They were home and in one piece, even if Loki had drained himself trying to put things right. She did not like keeping Frigga ignorant of things, but did not boys go out and get dirty, scrape their knees and bruise their elbows all the time – and some girls for that matter? Surely it was a part of growing up and the Princes should do it together, for one day the playground would turn into a battlefield and a lifetime of playing and adventuring together would play an important part in how they fought for the good of the realm together one day. She eyed them all up and decided their request was a fair one, but she needed to know they would trust her in the future and always come to her if they were in trouble. She beckoned and Tyr and Thor joined her at the side of the Forge. Loki sat up and she smiled kindly but firmly.

“On this occasion…”

“Yessss!!!” Hissed Thor and clenched his fist in jubilation.

“On this occasion,” repeated Eir, looking at him steadily, “I see no reason to unduly upset your mother about this. Although Loki does not have a great deal of power, he managed to heal himself enough that you could bring him here, which was the right thing to do. However, I have conditions…”

 

Tyr nodded, “What are they, Eir?” he asked.

 

“The first is that you will always come here if something happens, even if you think there is no apparent harm done. The second is that I reserve the right to overrule you and tell your parents if I think it is serious enough and thirdly… Well, the third is that you boys go out and have as much fun and adventure as you can. Always know that you can come to me if you need advice that you may, perhaps, feel that you would prefer to seek from someone other than your parents.”

 

Loki reached out through the healing mists of the Forge, which were making him feel a little bit better, and took hold of Eir’s hand, “Thank you,” he said.

“I would be honoured, my Princes, to be considered a confidante you can rely on at any time of your lives. I have been healing the Royal Family members for a long time and it is a privilege to attend to you."

 

And so a Pact was formed in the healing rooms that day and it was a Pact that the Princes of Asgard would rely on many, many times in their lives.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Did you enjoy your day my sons?” Frigga smiled as the three boys trooped in through the door of the nursery looking tired and bedraggled after being out nearly all day. Thor immediately launched into a retelling of the day’s activities, including the mock tournament they had held for sword play, a lengthy session of athletics and the inevitable digging for worms underneath the shrubs growing down by the lake, something it seemed boys of that age were wont to do. Tyr laughed along with him and embellished the telling of the tales, but it did not go entirely unnoticed by the astute Queen that Loki did not seem to be as enthusiastic. However, she put it down to tiredness and she quickly brought the talk to an end.

 

“Well, as much as I could listen all evening to your adventures, it is time for you to go to have a wash and get your bedclothes on. Then you can come to have some supper before bed.”

 

Tyr and Thor had decided to come back to the nursery to sleep that night, something they missed now that they were both deemed old enough to have their own suites. Thor spent around half the week at the nursery sleeping next to Loki in their childhood bed, but even he was being weaned off that and into sleeping more often in his own suite. Yet tonight was a rare chance for them to be with Loki after supper while they settled down in the soft play area to listen to bed time tales before finally growing sleepy enough to go to bed. So all three boys went through to the bathroom, where there was a large bubbly bath awaiting them. They spent half an hour splashing around and making bubble beards on their chins before being called out to get dried and dressed in their pyjamas for a bit of supper.

 

Loki’s somewhat subdued state remained throughout the simple meal of hot toasted crumpets with butter and Frigga decided that he should be settled down to sleep sooner rather than later. She had allowed him to sit on her lap while they ate and she could feel him getting drowsier as he leaned against her more and more heavily. He put up no resistance as she led him over to the large bed in the sleeping area of the nursery and helped him to climb in, but then something happened which caused him to become a bit more with it. As Frigga tucked him in, one of the sleeves of his pyjamas rode up a little, revealing his wrist and forearm, and the faint blue glow was clear to see in the relatively dark room. The look of guilt on her young son’s face was as plain as day as his eyes met hers and he said

 

“It was only a scratch! _Please_ don’t stop me playing out…”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm one of two sisters and we fought and made up many times - and kept secrets from our parents. One of the important parts of growing up, however, was having an adult confidante we could go to for anything we'd rather not discuss with our parents. It was a healthy and safe way of talking through some of the tricky parts of growing up without worrying my mum and dad and for that I will always be grateful. 
> 
> R.I.P. to my fantastic aunt, who passed away a few years ago and who had her ears bent on many an occasion as I negotiated the shark-infested waters of my teenage years and beyond xxx


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